Increasing competition in the motor vehicle market place, creates demands for more features, quality and reliability at the same time, yet with strong pressures for delivering with less cost and reduced timescales. In this paper an approach is presented, developed at Fiat Auto in co-operation with the System and Software Evaluation Centre of the Italian National Research Council, to set up a methodology supporting the management of software projects and suppliers. Problems peculiar to this application field are outlined along with possible consequences and ways-out.